Youngstown park and rec can cut or trim trees on the devil strip

Youngstown’s park and recreation department workers, including Jason Mauldin, with a chain saw, cut apart and remove a fallen tree from the devil strip in front of an East Lucius Avenue house on the city’s South Side. The city department can cut down damaged or dying trees on the devil’s strip at no cost to homeowners.

If you’ve got a fallen, damaged, dying or overgrown tree on the devil’s strip in front of your property in Youngstown, the city’s park and recreation department can take it down or trim it back — at no cost to you.

“We maintain those trees, and we are glad to help,” said Robert Burke, park and recreation director. “It can be very expensive to hire a company to take care of those trees.”

The department cut down 221 trees last year and has taken down about 130 so far this year, he said.

Also, the city grinds stumps and trims tree limbs.

The number of trees that will come down the rest of the year should increase from 15 last month and nine in July, Burke said.

That’s because some park and recreation workers were focused on cutting grass, and that is coming to an end shortly, he said.

“We have a long list, a backlog that we’ll be getting to,” Burke said. “We’re picking up the pace.”

Also, the department cuts back limbs on trees that block stop signs and traffic lights, he said.

Trees damaged or that fall down in storms take priority, Burke said.

Among the trees on the department’s list Monday was one on East Lucius Avenue that fell down late last week in a storm.

Also, in areas where there aren’t sidewalks, the city can cut or trim trees that are a few feet from the street, Burke said. The decision on whether the city will take care of those trees is up to the public-works department.

Those who want trees in the devil’s strip in front of their homes cut or trimmed, or those who have trees a few feet from the street, can call the park and recreation department at 330-742-8711.

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